Stargate SG-1's General Hammond died

Sad. Read the rest of this post...

DOW posts its worst June since the Great Depression

Somebody offer John McCain a donut. Read the rest of this post...

General Wesley Clark is sticking to his guns

And good for him. Because he's right. Let the media analyze exactly what Clark said and THEN tell us where he's wrong, or even rude. Here is what Clark said today:

There are many important issues in this Presidential election, clearly one of the most important issues is national security and keeping the American people safe. In my opinion, protecting the American people is the most important duty of our next President. I have made comments in the past about John McCain's service and I want to reiterate them in order be crystal clear. As I have said before I honor John McCain's service as a prisoner of war and a Vietnam Veteran. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands and millions of others in Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. I would never dishonor the service of someone who chose to wear the uniform for our nation.

John McCain is running his campaign on his experience and how his experience would benefit him and our nation as President. That experience shows courage and commitment to our country - but it doesn't include executive experience wrestling with national policy or go-to-war decisions. And in this area his judgment has been flawed - he not only supported going into a war we didn't have to fight in Iraq, but has time and again undervalued other, non-military elements of national power that must be used effectively to protect America But as an American and former military officer I will not back down if I believe someone doesn't have sound judgment when it comes to our nation's most critical issues.

Ooh, pretty controversial. Wesley Clark pointed out a fact. Quick, shut him up so Liz Sidoti can give John McCain another donut. With sprinkles. Read the rest of this post...

XP goes the way of the dodo this week

So what does that make Windows Vista besides the New Coke? Read the rest of this post...

The pundits, of course, rise to defend their friend, John McCain

The traditional media types are in a frenzy today. They are SHOCKED, JUST SHOCKED, that anyway could challenge John McCain. All the usual suspects are weighing in. Chris Cillizza, of course, parrots the conventional wisdom. Talking head Monica Novotny at MSNBC just blatantly mischaracterized what Wes Clark said. Marc Ambinder is unequivocal:

Ret. Gen. Wes Clark’s remark was a provocation; an insult.

An insult, right.

The McCain campaign is insulting the intelligence of the American people by hauling out one of the original Swift Boaters. That's the real insult. And, it's an insult to think that McCain's military service somehow makes him qualified to be president. It doesn't.

But, the McCain campaign can't possibly insult the intelligence of the traditional media. That crew falls for this B.S. every time. As MissLaura points out at DailyKos:

McCain's favored strategy is to link not just national security and foreign policy issues to his military record, but all issues on which he is challenged. Remember that this is a man who linked healthcare to his POW experience not too long ago. Many things can be said about McCain's military service. That it automatically qualifies him for the presidency is not one.

Just watch how the traditional media falls for it -- again.

Now, in these kinds of stories about patriotism, Cillizza, Novotny and Ambinder, like most of their colleagues, will repeatedly fail to mention that McCain didn't love his country til he was deprived of her company. Again, McCain's exact words:

I really didn't love America until I was deprived of her company.

McCain wasn't a kid when he was deprived of his country. He was deprived of his country at the age of 31, when he became a prisoner of war. Until then, in his own words, McCain really didn't love this country. During the time McCain didn't love his country, he was educated at the United States Naval Academy. During that time he didn't really love America, he served in the U.S. Navy. But, McCain told the world that he didn't love his country during those times. What does that say about McCain's character?

Ask any member of Congress -- or any other congressional or presidential candidate -- how old they were when they started to love their country. I bet you'd be hard pressed to find one who says they waited til they were 31.

Now, if John Kerry or Barack Obama ever said a phrase like that about not loving their country, the traditional media would never ever ever let it go -- no matter what the circumstances. The Republicans wouldn't let them forget it -- and that person would immediately be deemed unworthy to be president. But, today, we're seeing the media types all line up to defend McCain -- as if his own words and actions can never be challenged -- and that, of course, is the whole intent of the McCain campaign. The McCain campaign knows how to play the media for the fools that they are. They know they're dealing with the same media folks who endlessly regurgitated the false attacks against John Kerry from the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Only in their warped world was it acceptable to challenge Kerry's service, but unacceptable to intimate that McCain's service has nothing to do with whether he'd be a good president.

The punditry obviously all read David Broder's edict last week: No one can challenge John McCain because, we, the traditional media, know him and he's our friend. The pundits and political reporters who helped bring you the second Bush term by accepting the Karl Rove spin are at it again -- working to give you a third Bush term. Read the rest of this post...

Lieberman and the Bush administration create a "politics of fear" echo chamber to aid McCain

It's 2004 all over again:

The White House on Monday said it agreed with Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-Conn.) warning that terrorists could test the new president with an attack next year.

Lieberman, who has ruffled Democratic feathers with his outspoken support of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), said on “Face the Nation” that “our enemies will test the new president early.”

Asked about that statement, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Lieberman could be right.

“I think Sen. Lieberman, unfortunately, could be right,” Perino stated, noting that there continue to be extremists determined to attack the U.S.

Of course the White House agreed with Senator Joe Lieberman. They're all on the same team trying to win a third Bush term for John McCain --and the politics of fear is a key part of McCain's campaign.

Now, if Lieberman and Bush and McCain had actually put their time and energy into vanquishing al Qaeda, we wouldn't be talking about the potential for a terror threat.

But, as we learned today, the Iraq war and Bush administration in-fighting hampered the effort to defeat the enemy who killed over 3,000 Americans on September 11th. Joe Lieberman and his pal, John McCain, never held Bush accountable for his failures. Now, they're all exploiting those failures for political gain. It's sick, but the traditional media will let them get away with it -- again. Read the rest of this post...

McCain campaign attacks John Kerry's war record, says Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were simply telling the truth

How do Chris Cillizza, Marc Ambinder, Rick Sanchez, the Washington Independent and all the other folks in the media, who turn into goo whenever John McCain speaks, feel about McCain putting a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth on a campaign conference call today, and then using that campaign call to restate the bogus charges against John Kerry, a Vietnam vet?

Sen. John McCain's campaign launched on Monday, the McCain "Truth Squad" - a group of political and Vietnam contemporaries who would counter attacks on the Senator's military record.

In hopes of nipping any criticism in the bud, the campaign brought on board a man quite familiar with how these types of attacks gain legs: Bud Day, a fellow POW who was part of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth squad that had worked so hard to defame Sen. John Kerry's own Vietnam record.

On the conference call, Day - in addition to the other participants - decried comments made by Gen. Wesley Clark over the weekend, in which he questioned whether McCain's war experience really qualified him to be commander-in-chief. Defending McCain's service, Day was quick to personalize his remarks....

"The Swift Boat attacks were simply a revelation of the truth, the similarity does not exist here. What the Swift Boat campaign was about was to lay out John Kerry's record. John Kerry has never produced any evidence to deny that. We are producing the evidence of these attacks right now to show that those remarks were completely inaccurate.

It seems McCain is the only Vietnam vet whose record is off-limits (McCain's surrogate also belittled General Clark's experience in Vietnam - again, it's okay when McCain's team does it). But for McCain to use a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, to put such a person on the campaign conference call as a spokesman for the campaign, and then to let this man reiterate the Swift Boat attacks on Jerry Kerry. Absolutely amazing. Let's see how many of our friends in the mainstream media even dare to ask John McCain how he could even think of having a Swift Boat Veteran represent his campaign. Read the rest of this post...

The NYT tries to act like a real newspaper

Read the rest of this post...

Maybe CBS's Bob Schieffer can be John McCain's VP

What did Wesley Clark really say yesterday? You wouldn't know it from today's news coverage. Then there's CBS' Bob Schieffer, who seems to be auditioning for VP.

More from Media Matters:

What Gen. Clark Actually Said
Media Falsely Claim Clark Attacked McCain’s Service
Clark Praised McCain’s Service, While Saying it Wasn’t a “Qualification to be President”

Washington, DC -- Today Media Matters for America called on members of the media to set the record straight concerning the remarks of retired Gen. Wesley Clark on Sen. John McCain’s military record -- a record Clark praised while also saying that it wasn’t a “qualification to be president.” Many in the media have falsely claimed that Gen. Clark attacked McCain’s military service in comments made during the June 29 edition of CBS’ Face the Nation.

Few have reported the entirety of what Clark actually said, including his praise of McCain’s service, or that his comments actually repeated CBS Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer’s own words in response to Schieffer’s statement that unlike McCain, Obama has not “ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.”

“The media driven notion that Gen. Clark somehow attacked Sen. McCain’s military service is patently false. In fact, the opposite is true -- he praised it. This controversy was created and fueled by a media unwilling to live up to the basic journalistic standard of accuracy and thoroughness,” said Karl Frisch, a spokesman for Media Matters. “It is a fact that Gen. Clark praised Sen. McCain’s military service while also saying that such service is not a ‘qualification to be president.’ The media have a duty not only to Gen. Clark but the public to correct the record.”

What did Clark actually say?

Many in the media have cropped Clark’s June 29 Face the Nation interview to the short soundbite: “I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.” Those cropping the interview make two serious errors. First, they ignore that Clark was repeating Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer’s words in response to Schieffer’s statement that, unlike McCain, Obama has not “ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down.” Second, they ignore that shortly before that part of Clark’s exchange with Schieffer, Clark praised McCain’s service: “I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands of millions of others in the Armed Forces as a prisoner of war. He has been a voice on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and he has traveled all over the world.” Clark continued: “But he hasn't held executive responsibility. That large squadron in Air -- in the Navy that he commanded, it wasn't a wartime squadron. He hasn't been there and ordered the bombs to fall. He hasn't seen what it's like when diplomats come in and say, ‘I don't know whether we're going to be able to get this point through or not. Do you want to take the risk? What about your reputation? How do we handle it publicly?’ He hasn't made those calls, Bob.”

Read the rest of this post...

When does the media plan on reporting that John McCain "really didn't love America" at the age of 31 as a military officer?

McCain has said this more than once, so it's not a mistake. Now that the media is in a frenzy to cover the audacity of anyone to ask about John McCain's military service (he did at least one propaganda tape admitting to war crimes, but don't ask about it), I hope the media will remind people that John McCain has said, twice, that he didn't even love his country when he was shot down at the age of 31, while serving in the United States military. That's not speculation, it's not a lie, it's what McCain himself has said, twice. Mrs. Obama simply said she was never "really proud" of our country until recently, and that was a huge story. But McCain, as a future commander in chief contender, never loved our country as an adult but the media think it's not news. Imagine had Barack Obama said he never loved America until he hit his 30s. Imagine the media reaction. Imagine John McCain's and the Republicans' reactions. McCain has never been asked to explain himself.

Watch McCain's statement for yourself:

Read the rest of this post...

With sprinkles!

John McCain and his surrogates have been attacking Obama's wife, Michelle, which is something the Republicans tend to do every presidential campaign. But this time, some say it's not going to work:

Despite all this negative commentary, a recent Gallup poll showed her favorable/unfavorable ratings at a relatively strong 48% favorable, 29% unfavorable (as compared to 39% favorable, 25% unfavorable for Cindy McCain). And like previous spouses, she has an opportunity to improve them over the course of the general election campaign. In April of 1992, shortly after Bill Clinton clinched the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton's Gallup ratings stood at 38% favorable and 39% unfavorable, with the famous "Stand By Your Man" 60 Minutes interview in January of that year probably representing the most enduring image of HRC. By election day, they rebounded to 49% favorable and 30% unfavorable.

These kind of attacks, going after the wife, are always risky. I mean, what kind of man goes after his opponent by hitting the guy's wife? But, the Republicans are quite accomplished at hitting below the belt, and getting away with it. Just look at John McCain - he used his own scandal-ridden wife to attack Mrs. Obama, and the media didn't even flinch. The mainstream media "likes" John McCain. The media tolerated, and even promoted, disgusting attacks on John Kerry's military record - claiming that Kerry's medals were somehow fake. The media loved to show and reshow the photo of John Kerry throwing away his medals from Vietnam. They never got enough of Bill Clinton protesting the Vietnam war at a US embassy. But that same media won't touch John McCain's actual military record, such as when McCain made propaganda tapes for the North Vietnamese, something that would be a never-ending story had Obama done propaganda tapes for, say, Al Qaeda. Yes, at around the same time in history, Bill Clinton attended an anti-Vietnam-war protest, John Kerry gave up his medals from Vietnam, and John McCain made propaganda tapes for the North Vietnamese. Guess which act the mainstream media (and the Republican party) find least offensive and more forgivable.

Then again, the media's pro-McCain/pro-Republican bias shouldn't surprise us. Reporters like AP's Liz Sidoti even bring McCain his coffee and donuts, just the way he likes them. As the Post's Dana Milbank reported a short while back (Via Jed Report):

So much for the liberal media.

John McCain and Barack Obama both appeared before the nation's newspaper editors yesterday. The putative Republican presidential nominee was given a box of doughnuts and a standing ovation. The likely Democratic nominee was likened to a terrorist....

"We spend quite a bit of time with you on the back of the Straight Talk Express asking you questions, and what we've decided to do today was invite everyone else along on the ride," Sidoti explained. "We even brought you your favorite treat."

McCain opened the offering. "Oh, yes, with sprinkles!" he said.

Sidoti passed him a cup. "A little coffee with a little cream and a little sugar," she said.

With sprinkles! How adorable! You really have to watch the video - Jed has it - Sedoti literally giggles as she's giving McCain his coffee and donuts. Watch and listen to Jed's video. Now ask yourself why McCain himself can criticize Obama for not having served in the military ("Sparring between McCain and Obama over the GI Bill got personal last week when McCain said he would not be lectured from someone 'who did not feel it was his responsibility to serve our country in uniform.'"), but when anyone not even related to the Obama campaign asks legitimate questions about things that actually happened during McCain's military service, such as the propaganda tapes, the McCain campaign, and the media in tow, treats such questions as out of bounds and "fringe" and "Swift Boating." That's my favorite, the Swift Boating charge. Yes, the media that quite literally hand fed you the Swift Boat story for a good year, pretty much putting the nail in the coffin of John Kerry's presidency, now suddenly cares about our vets and negative campaigning. (Had Obama done propaganda videos for the enemy, the video would be on an endless 24 hour loop on CNN and FOX - speaking of which, where is John McCain's propaganda tape?). Seems the media only censors itself when the question is about something that actually did happen, and the target is a donut-eating Republican. With sprinkles. Read the rest of this post...

Take the McCain residences tour

As noted, John and Cindy McCain weren't paying the taxes on one of their many homes. Jed took a tour -- via Google Earth -- of the McCain residences across the country:



No wonder they have so much time staying on top of paying their taxes. That's a lot of properties to keep track of. Read the rest of this post...

Hunt for al Qaeda "undermined by bitter disagreements within the Bush administration" and Iraq War

Last week, John McCain's top adviser, Charlie Black, made news when he said a terror attack would be a "big advantage" to McCain's chances of winning the election in November. Republican really think that. The sick thing is that it's the Bush administration's failure to destroy al Qaeda that makes another attack even possible. A blockbuster in today's New York Times explains how the Bush and his top aides have continuously screwed up the anti-terror efforts:

The story of how Al Qaeda, whose name is Arabic for “the base,” has gained a new haven is in part a story of American accommodation to President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, whose advisers played down the terrorist threat. It is also a story of how the White House shifted its sights, beginning in 2002, from counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan to preparations for the war in Iraq.

Just as it had on the day before 9/11, Al Qaeda now has a band of terrorist camps from which to plan and train for attacks against Western targets, including the United States. Officials say the new camps are smaller than the ones the group used prior to 2001. However, despite dozens of American missile strikes in Pakistan since 2002, one retired C.I.A. officer estimated that the makeshift training compounds now have as many as 2,000 local and foreign militants, up from several hundred three years ago.

Publicly, senior American and Pakistani officials have said that the creation of a Qaeda haven in the tribal areas was in many ways inevitable — that the lawless badlands where ethnic Pashtun tribes have resisted government control for centuries were a natural place for a dispirited terrorism network to find refuge. The American and Pakistani officials also blame a disastrous cease-fire brokered between the Pakistani government and militants in 2006.

But more than four dozen interviews in Washington and Pakistan tell another story. American intelligence officials say that the Qaeda hunt in Pakistan, code-named Operation Cannonball by the C.I.A. in 2006, was often undermined by bitter disagreements within the Bush administration and within the C.I.A., including about whether American commandos should launch ground raids inside the tribal areas.

These screw-ups are the people who claim they'll make us safer. It's never been true (although the media laps it up and too many Democrats still cower at the idea of standing up to Bush's failed national security policies.)

It wasn't just the in-fighting, that undermined the anti-terror efforts. As many predicted back during the rush to war in 2002, Iraq was a major distraction from the effort to destroy the real enemy who attacked the U.S. in 2001:

Current and former military and intelligence officials said that the war in Iraq consistently diverted resources and high-level attention from the tribal areas. When American military and intelligence officials requested additional Predator drones to survey the tribal areas, they were told no drones were available because they had been sent to Iraq.

The Bush administration is a national security disgrace. John McCain backed Bush's policies all the way. This is their failure.

Of course, for Republicans, there is a silver lining. If something really bad happens, like another terrorist attack on the U.S., it could help McCain. Maybe that's been part of the strategy all along. Read the rest of this post...

9 in 10 Americans see financial squeeze

What do 90% of Americans know anyway? Ben Bernanke says everything is just fine and Henry Paulson tell us that we have a strong dollar policy. John McCain still isn't sure about any of this but as soon as Phil Gramm tells him what to say, I'm sure he'll confirm that everything is A-OK. Read the rest of this post...

Monday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

In a report on the failure to capture Osama bin Laden on the Today Show at 7:10 a.m, Matt Lauer was asking NBC's Pentagon reporter Jim Miklaszewski, a question. Lauer began "The reports says that, uh, Obama....excuse me, Osama bin Laden...'

It's going to be a long four months til November. Read the rest of this post...

Bernanke not sure inflation is a problem

To be fair, those complaining about inflation could simply show 'em all and stop buying food to eat or using energy for their home or car. The skyrocketing costs hitting every American home are fictional. Haven't happened and won't be an issue at all moving forward. See, Bernanke isn't quite as much of an idiot as most believe.

Yet Bernanke's Fed signaled Wednesday that, after nine months of interest rate cuts and expansive lending to the financial sector, it isn't eager to reverse course and push rates higher to try to tamp down rising prices.

Why? Because the Fed remains skeptical that high commodity prices will ripple through the economy, leading to broad price hikes and big wage increases.

"The committee expects inflation to moderate later this year and next year," the Federal Open Market Committee said in holding the fed funds rate steady at 2%, though it did note that "uncertainty" remains high and suggested inflation concerns could rise.

Read the rest of this post...

How will African Union respond to Mugabe?

Now that the single-choice, violence-marred campaign is over Robert Mugabe is traveling to join fellow African Union countries in Egypt. Some observers are holding out hope that the AU will voice their opposition to the fraudulent election in Zimbabwe. In an ideal world, perhaps, though considering how European Union allowed Mugabe to visit Italy for a shopping trip only a few months ago, this may not be very realistic. Mugabe was one of the early revolutionaries who fought against European colonialism in Africa so for many, they can easily overlook recent events in Zimbabwe. How they can overlook the fact that the people suffering from hunger and violence are also black and disenfranchised is another question. Read the rest of this post...